born in New Jersey in 1801, died in Danville a few years ago. John Hoobler, a United Brethren minister, born in Pennsylvania in 1801, died in Illinois. William Trosper, born in Kentucky in 1808, died in this township December 9, 1886. Nehemiah Cossey, from Maryland, first to Parke County and in 1832 to this county; died long ago. His son Peter, born in that State in 1812, is also deceased. Fielding Rabourn, born in Kentucky in 1815, died here a few years ago. William H. Carithers from Ohio, long since deceased, was the father of Jonathan, Frank and Henry, all of whom are living. William Callihan a potter by trade, from Ohio, moved on to Danville; was father of Emanuel and Simeon. M. B. Carter, present county recorder, was born in this county in 1832.
1833. -- J. F., Will P., Thomas H., G. H. and David Smith, from Virginia, born 1812-'20. G. H. died in 1879; the rest are still living here. Thomas Gouty, this year or previously, died Jun 10, 1863, aged sixty-one years. Elias, his son, was born here in 1833. Henry Gouty may have settled in this township a year or two later; he died in 1864, and his wife Rebecca died in 1874, at the age of seventy-five years. David Gouty is their son. John S. Kirkpatrick, a miller,, born in Kentucky in 1812, lived at Gessie awhile, and moved to Danville, Illinois, where he died. Norman Cade, died soon after arrival. His son David has left the county, and Henry still lives here. Jacob Givens, born in Virginia in 1815, died here. James Hanson, father of Smith Hanson.
1834. -- Jacob Rudy, born in Switzerland in 1818, died within a few years. Martin Rudy, his father, died some years ago. James Rudy is still a resident. Peter Switzer, deceased. His son Wesley, born in Ohio in 1821, is living.
1835. -- Thomas Moore, who died in 1843; was the father of Joseph and Washington. T. H. Harrison, born in Virginia in 1810, still living in this township.
1836. -- John R. and George H. McNeill, from Maryland, the former born in 1811 and the latter in 1818. Lewis and John Butler, from Ohio, the former born in 1813 and the latter in 1816; Lewis is deceased and John is living in Vermillion Township. Elijah Roseberry, who died May 25, 1857, aged fifty-one and a half years, and Catharine, his wife, who died August 5, 1879, at the age of sixty-nine and a half years. Thomas Cushman, born in New York in 1814, now a resident of Newport. Has been auditor.
1837. -- James J. Lewis, born in Maryland in 1805; still living here. His son J. A., born in this State in 1835, died several years ago; Joshua, another son, lives at Cayuga; and Meredith resides in this township. Robert J. Gessie, born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1809, is still a resident here (see sketch). Elhanan Stevens, born in Maryland in 1816, is a resident. Price Chezem, long since deceeased. Charles Chezem, born in Indiana in 1827 has been long a resident.
1838. -- Walter B. Moffatt born in this State October 4, 1822, died August 14, 1882. Horatio Talbert, long since deceased; his son Henry, born in Pennsylvania in 1816, died a few years ago. Samuel Harris, born in Virginia in 1819, moved to another section of the country.
1839. -- John Dunlap, deceased, born in Ireland in 1809. Samuel Swingley and Samuel Watt, from Ohio.
The following names we have, without the date of settlement being given:
John N. Jones, long associated with J. F. Smith in the milling and mercantile business; Joseph Cheadle, father of Joseph B., present member of Congress, was born May 9, 1789, in one of the Eastern States, and
died in this township June 19, 1863; William B. Palmer, who died eight or ten years ago; William Hutsonpiller, carpenter at Perrysville who died many years ago; Daniel Mossberger, who also died many years ago; Joseph and Elizabeth Howard, deceased; John McFall; Archibald Billing, who died April 16, 1870, at the age of fifty-two years; his father died here, previous to 1833.
Mr. Thomas H. Smith remarks that there are but three persons now keeping house in Highland Township who were in that relation in 1833, when he came here, namely, Mrs. Chestie Hain, Adaline V. Jones and Mrs. Glover.
Perrysville was laid out in 1826, by James Blair, on a beautiful elevation on the bank of the Wabash River, and named by him in honor of his commander on Lake Erie during the war of 1812, Commodore O. H. Perry. For a long time it was the most populous town in the county, and was an entrepot for a large section of country to the north west and south of it. In commercial importance it was for a number of years far ahead even of Danville, Illinois, a supremacy which was held until the present system of railroads was projected. Since then it has been a dead town, so dead that its very quietness is striking. Even the voice of children on summer evenings, so common in villages elsewhere is scarcely to be heard at their rollicking plays, and the passing days are "one eternal Sabbath." Grass and weeds have overgrown the streets, and the lovely shade-trees continue to do their sweetest duty.
Among the early business men here perhaps J. F. Smith, T. H. Smith, J. N. Jones and Robert D. Moffatt have been the most conspicuous. The old warehouses and grist-mill still used to some extent on the bank of the river, were built and run for many years by Smith & Jones, and are yet owned by the senior partner, J. F. Smith, Mr. Jones having died. The latter also built another grist-mill at the wharf, which was burnt down. March 31, 1884, occurred perhaps the greatest fire that ever visited Perrysville, which entirely consumed the three principal business houses, fine brick structures, two stories high besides basement, the property of the Smith Brothers. The origin of the fire was from the roof of an adjoining building. By this fire the Masonic hall, with its records and paraphernalia, was destroyed.
The Perrysville Woolen Mill was erected in the western part of town a year or two after the war, by Riggs, Head & Co., who furnished the machinery mainly from Coving-
ton, Indiana, where they had previously been running a similar factory. The Perrysville institution was run until 1881, with only partial success. During the latter year, after the mill had been standing idle a few months, B. O. Carpenter purchased the building and power, and converted it into a flouring-mill of two run of buhrs and a capacity of about seventy or eighty barrels of flour per day of twenty-four hours.
H. S. Comingore & Son's "Perrysville Stove Works," in the southern part of the village is a modern, neat establishment, brick, erected in June, 1884. It comprises two Ls, the foundry being 25 x 110 feet in dimensions and the finishing room 25 x 84. This firm started in business in Perrysville in 1858, in a small frame building a little to the northwest of their present place; it has recently been torn down and removed.
A young, ambitious little institution is the Perrysville Creamery, on the bank of the river. Capacity of the works, about 2,000 pounds of butter per week. E. A. Lucey, secretary of the company, is the superintendent. J. F. Compton is president and treasurer.
Perrysville has been an incorporated town. The first municipal election was held January 15, 1881, when the following were elected trustees: First Ward, William Collins; Second Ward, John R. McNeill; Third Ward, Samuel Shaner. W. M. Benefiel was elected Clerk; Rezin Metzger, Assessor; Lewis A. Morgan, Treasurer; and Peter S. Moudy, Marshal. Mr. Shaner was elected President. J. F. Smith was the next president of the board. Mr. Morgan resigned his office as treasurer and Mr. Benefiel was appointed in his place, still retaining the clerkship. The third president was Lewis Morgan, when John T. Lowe was elected clerk and treasurer.
In the fall of 1884 the question whether the corporate capacity of the place should be continued was submitted to a vote of the citizens, and was decided in the negative by a small majority. Under the corporate government the streets were macadamized, the poll tax for the village being kept within its limits, and an additional tax raised. Also a calaboose was built. A town board of education managed the school affairs.
That fine, large brick school-house in the southern part of town was erected in 1862, when Thomas Cushman was trustee. In the basement are three rooms, on the first floor four, besides the hall, and on the second floor four. The belfry tower contains also a room thirty feet square. The school is graded, and is taught by six or seven teachers. Enrollment, about 170; average attendance, about 130 or 140. G. W. Dealand, who has been the popular principal for the last four years, was elected county superintendent of schools on the first Monday of June, 1887.
As before stated, the first newspaper printed in Vermillion County was the News-Letter, at Eugene, in 1837, which continued but six months. Mr. R. B. Dickason, of this place, worked on the paper. The office was purchased by J. R. Jones and moved to Perrysville the same year, where he published the Perrysville Banner. About two years afterward Clapp & Roney had the paper, when it was called the Vermillion Register. Next it was the Perrysville Republican, with Austin Bishop as editor and proprietor. Then Mr. Dickason published here the Perrysville Eagle, 1852-'55, which he sold to Mr. Robinson, and he to Benjamin Snodgrass, who finally let it die; and that was the last of the newspaper business in Perrysville, although several attempts to establish other journals have been made. These papers were